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| Sunday, 26 October 2003 |
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Cold-blooded murder by JAYAMPATHY JAYASINGHE Mystery shrouds the murders of two youths, Niluka Suranga Weerasinghe (19) and Gihan Prasad Gamage (20) who were killed by an unknown gunman on Monday night. The boys were shot on their heads while travelling in a Colombo bound luxury bus around 7.30 p.m. The incident occurred at Koralawella in Moratuwa. The bus had began its journey from Ambalangoda and was proceeding towards Colombo when the horrific incident happened. Police described it as 'ruthless cold blooded murder' committed on the spur of the moment by some unknown person. OIC Crimes Moratuwa, IP, Kamal Amarasinghe along with HQI Moratuwa, Chief Inspector Anura De Silva who rushed to the scene said that they are pursuing several clues to establish the motive for the murder. However as the killers had vanished, they were unable to say anything about the murder. "The passengers, mostly office workers returning home were too terrified to grapple with armed killers. So they simply ducked behind the seats for cover." said Inspector Amarasinghe. ASP Moratuwa, Roshan Silva said that it was a very strange murder where the Killers had first got into the Colombo bound luxury bus from Ambalangoda. The victims had boarded the bus at Beruwala indicating they were not being followed. We have detailed a police team to track down the killers, he said. Senior Supdt. of Police (SSP) Mt. Lavinia Division, W.P. Dayaratna said that the police had not found any empty cartridges inside the bus. "This shows the assassins most probably used a revolver type weapon where spent bullets don't eject when fired. Or it may be that the two spent bullets were lodged in a passengers bag. We are investigating several clues." he said. However, only a few passengers had seen the real drama unfolding before them. A well-built man was seen holding a revolver against the head of a young man standing near the front seats. Then all of a sudden two loud bursts were heard and two youths fell inside the bus. The startled passengers had panicked on hearing the loud burst of a revolver. Some even ducked for cover under the seats to avoid being struck by stray bullets. In fact the passengers had thought that a group of underworld characters were about to rob them. After the shooting, the gunman had forced the bus to a halt and escaped with his companion leaving the passengers frozen in horror. The passengers could not comprehend what happened as everything was over within minutes. Equally baffled were the police due to the absence of any motive for the murder. Police found the bus, splattered with blood and brain matter, at Koralawella. According to police the two assassins had boarded the bus at Ambalangoda and the two youths had got into the bus at Beruwela. Obviously this wasn't a pre-planned affair. Otherwise the assassins would have followed them from Beruwela." HQI Moratuwa said But then why were they killed and what was the motive behind the killing?. Was it an another contract killing that we hear these days. Or were the killers some trigger happy psychopaths? Or were the two young men engaged in some illegal activity. Were they slain due to a mistaken identity? These are some queries the Police are looking for answers. In fact the two young men were thick friends who studied at Asoka Vidyalaya Colombo. Both were aspiring to be accountants. In fact Niluka Weerasinghe who worked for a company in the Maldives, had returned to Sri Lanka early this month to sit for an examination. On that fateful day, he informed his father that he was proceeding to Bentota with his friend Gihan Prasad Gamage who called over at his home early that day. They were going to Bentota to purchase a cellular phone. The other victim, Gihan Prasad Gamage from Homagama was soon to be employed as a clerk in a bank at Dehiwala. He had also played cricket for his school. A senior police officer said that it was shocking to think of the nature of the murder. "Although we have not yet identified the killers, we are optimistic that the killers will be rounded up before long," he said. A member of the public said that it was naive to think that Sri Lanka has not assumed the notoriety status of Chicago during gangster Al-capone era. Guns are not a rarity these days. The criminals, service deserters, drug couriers are well equipped with sophisticated automatic pistols and revolvers," he said. |
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